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www.geosci-model-dev-discuss.net/4/1809/2011/
doi:10.5194/gmdd-4-1809-2011
© Author(s) 2011. This work is distributed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Towards an online-coupled chemistry-climate model: evaluation of COSMO-ART
1Laboratory for Air Pollution/Env. Technology, Empa Materials and Science, 8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland
2C2SM Center for Climate Systems Modeling, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland
3Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
4School of Earth Atmospheric, and Environmental Sciences, National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
5Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
6Air Quality Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
7TNO Princetonlaan 6, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
8CIRES and Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
9Institut IEK-8, Troposphäre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
10Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
11Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig, Germany
12Division of Nuclear Physics, Department of Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Abstract. The online-coupled, regional chemistry transport model COSMO-ART is evaluated for periods in all seasons against several measurement datasets to assess its ability to represent gaseous pollutants and ambient aerosol characteristics over the European domain. Measurements used in the comparison include long-term station observations, satellite and ground-based remote sensing products, and complex datasets of aerosol chemical composition and number size distribution from recent field campaigns. This is the first time these comprehensive measurements of aerosol characteristics in Europe are used to evaluate a regional chemistry transport model. We show a detailed analysis of the simulated size-resolved chemical composition under different meteorological conditions. The model is able to represent trace gas concentrations with good accuracy and reproduces bulk aerosol properties rather well though with a clear tendency to underestimate both total mass (PM10 and PM2.5) and aerosol optical depth. We find indications of an overestimation of shipping emissions. Time evolution of aerosol chemical composition is captured, although some biases are found in relative composition. Nitrate aerosol components are on average overestimated, and sulfates underestimated. The accuracy of simulated organics depends strongly on season and location. While strongly underestimated during summer, organic mass is comparable in spring and autumn. We see indications for an overestimated fractional contribution of primary organic matter in urban areas and an underestimation of SOA at many locations. Aerosol number concentrations can be simulated well, size distributions are comparable. Our work sets the basis for subsequent studies of aerosol characteristics and climate impacts with COSMO-ART, and highlights areas where improvements are necessary for current regional modeling systems in general.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 3879 KB) Supplement (1084 KB) Interactive Discussion (Closed, 9 Comments) Final Revised Paper (GMD)
Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Knote, C., Brunner, D., Vogel, H., Allan, J., Asmi, A., Äijälä, M., Carbone, S., van der Gon, H. D., Jimenez, J. L., Kiendler-Scharr, A., Mohr, C., Poulain, L., Prévôt, A. S. H., Swietlicki, E., and Vogel, B.: Towards an online-coupled chemistry-climate model: evaluation of COSMO-ART, Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., 4, 1809-1874, doi:10.5194/gmdd-4-1809-2011, 2011. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
